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Heart Attack and Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)

(Ed. note - As it is heart month, we asked Dr. Rocco Ciocca, Chief of Vascular Surgery, to explain a little more about heart attacks and peripheral artery disease.)

Most people are familiar with the phrase “heart attack” and know that it can be a life threatening condition.

The most common case of a “heart attack” or myocardial infarction is the sudden closure or clotting of a vessel or vessels that supply blood and thus oxygen and other nutrients to the heart. The heart is a muscle and without adequate blood flow the muscle dies. The most common case of a heart attack is “hardening of the arteries” or atherosclerotic disease of the arteries. The disease, which is most commonly related to various risk factors such as age, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high suger levels in the blood (diabetes), causes abnormal blockages to develop in critical blood vessels in the body limiting flow. The blood vessels of the heart are not the only vessels affected.

In fact, hardening of the arteries is a systemic (total body) process that involves many other blood vessels of the body. When it involves the other peripheral arteries of the body it is know as PAD, peripheral artery disease. The diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of PAD are managed by vascular specialists such as vascular surgeons.

Prevention of the development of PAD is always the best approach and that revolves around controlling the controllable risk factors such as smoking, blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol. Diet and exercise are critical.

In general, simple noninvasive tests can diagnosis the presence of PAD and a vascular specialist can work to individualize a treatment strategy usually starting with conservative non-interventional therapies but employing a variety of other interventional approaches if and when they are needed.

Let's continue the conversation about your heart - join us on Saturday, February 25 from 8 a.m. to noon at three different locations — Swedish/Cherry Hill in Seattle, Edmonds Conference Center in Downtown Edmonds and Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. Register here to enjoy informative lectures, free screenings, a healthy breakfast and more at this free community event.If you want to start small and make a big impact in your diet, try one of our heart-healthy recipes in this archive of over one hundred tasty, heart-healthy dishes.